The first quarter return of Blackstone Group’s private equity funds jumped 15% in the first quarter, and the firm plans as many as 10 initial public offerings for its portfolio companies by the early part of next year.

Blackstone’s net economic income, which excludes some expenses related to the private equity firm’s initial public offering three years ago, swung to $360m (€271m) in the first quarter after a loss of $82m in the first quarter of last year.

The improvement was mostly due to bigger performance and allocation fees, driven by an increase in dealmaking and the value of companies in Blackstone’s funds.

The 15% net return in Blackstone’s funds contrasted with a 5% loss in the first quarter last year and built upon the 6% positive return in the fourth quarter. This was the result of a 16% rise in the estimated value of its portfolio companies, in addition to “increased interest from strategic buyers and various balance sheet restructurings.”

Blackstone president Hamilton James said on a call with reporters: “The overall story for the quarter is improvement across the board. There aren’t any surprises except how strong the recovery has been.”

On regulation, Schwarzman: “I think this particular set of proposals, which is dynamic, addresses an important element, which is making sure the financial system has an appropriate level of regulation. I think it’s important that that be done in the right way.”

Chief executive Steve Schwarzman added that he is optimistic about raising funds from investors in the future after a long period in which fundraising was “locked up.” Because of the recovery in public markets over the past year, said Schwarzman, institutional investors such as pension schemes are less constrained in how much money they can place in private equity.

Blackstone has a $1bn pool of capital dedicated to investing in US financial institutions to which the firm has committed 25%, with the rest coming from investors. But James added that he is not optimistic about investing in larger banks because of more stringent regulatory rules for private equity firms, but was more confident in pursuing deals in smaller banks.

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Without including Blackstone’s funds that still plan to make further investments, the value of Blackstone’s private equity funds now represent 2.2 times the amount invested. When including those funds that are still investing, the number is 1.4 times the original investment.

James said that given the recovery in the broader economy and capital markets, Blackstone plans on taking public 8-10 of its portfolio companies by the early part of next year, though said not to take that number “as gospel.” The shares of companies that Blackstone has taken public since the start of last year have risen 45% on average, said James.